As the Golden State Warriors took on the Oklahoma City Thunder in a thrillingly close game, one thing stood out. Jonathan Kuminga sat at the end of the Warriors’ bench on Tuesday, watching the team’s dogfight with the defending champions unfold without him, as he was subbed out for the entire fourth quarter. After the Warriors ultimately fell to the Thunder, one voice took to social media.

“What are we doing out here 🤦🏻,” Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, posted on X.

The message hit more like a warning than confusion, especially since it came from within the Dubs forward’s camp. To Turner’s point, however, there was no clear answer on Kuminga’s benching. He wasn’t in foul trouble and didn’t appear to have any significant injuries, leading to one conclusion: it was effort and mistakes.

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Kuminga had some good offensive moments and was solid on the boards, but his inefficiency, including four missed shots with multiple ill-advised attempts, didn’t help when Golden State was mounting the pressure. When he entered the game in the third quarter with 5:04 remaining, the Warriors had cut OKC’s 19-point halftime lead to 11. From that time till the end of the quarter, JK went 2-6 from the floor as the Warriors cut the lead further to just 3 points.

But then Kerr opted to close with a lineup of Pat Spencer, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, and Draymond Green, with spurts of Seth Curry, who made his debut for the team today.

Kuminga, after a strong start to the season, has fallen in the team’s rotation. He was recently removed from the starting lineup in favor of rookie second-rounder Will Richard, who has been solid this season, and his fourth-quarter benching seems like a further downgrade, especially when the team went with an extremely small lineup against one of the best offenses in the league.

“There’s always frustration for players when they go out of the starting lineup,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, downplaying Kuminga’s perceived frustration. “In this particular equation with JK, when he does come back… He’s got to earn his way back into the starting lineup.”

Now, with demoralizing losses mounting and Stephen Curry absent, it might be time for both the Warriors and Kuminga to move on from each other.

Jonathan Kuminga Left on the Bench as Warriors Collapse Late vs OKC

The Golden State Warriors had a chance to steal tonight’s game late despite trailing by as much as 22 points in the third, but the shorthanded squad put up a hard fight in the third quarter, forcing turnovers and cutting the lead to one heading into the fourth.

With just under 10 minutes to play, new addition Seth Curry drilled a wild, off-balance three to tie the game at 95, and sent Chase Center into a frenzy.

Jonathan Kuminga, despite the Warriors’ push, remained glued to the bench, watching the team’s comeback fall apart in the fourth. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander closed brilliantly against weaker Golden State defenders, scoring eight straight points to silence the crowd and seal a 124-112 win.

Kuminga, a lengthy wing, could’ve provided the team valuable defense they lacked earlier in the game, and perhaps help Green contain the Thunder on defense. With the season already spiraling and every game demanding utmost urgency, his absence amplified frustration, especially from his agent, as Golden State ran out of gas down the stretch.